UNFLAPPABLE under pressure, Emma Millest has breathed through the world’s most cut-throat barbecuing competitions. But the grill-off queen was not quite prepared for the gaggle of cameramen crowding around her ready to capture her sizzling efforts for a new ITV show.

As batting them away with her tongues was not an option while filming BBQ Champ, she regrouped and ploughed her energies into what she does best, barbecuing.

"BBQ Champ was way out of my comfort zone," she admits. "It took a long time to get used to it. I'm not the kind of person who likes attention.

"The whole thing was a big challenge. I'm more of a slow cooker and this was more grilling rather than smoking. It was very fast-paced.

"I feel like I've been living in this bubble."

Emma, who has scooped a string of barbecuing awards in America and Europe since 2011 alongside her partner and Bunch of Swines team mate Ed Gash, entered untrodden territory by competing on her own for the very first time on the programme.

"It was very unusual for it to be just me," adds the 32-year-old from the town centre. "Ed and I are a team. We are unbeatable when we are together.

"I really wanted to do the show to get more people aware of barbecue. For me barbecuing is about family, spending time together. I wanted to show people how it's done so they could try it themselves."

A Great British Bake Off for amateur barbecuers, BBQ Champ which first aired last Friday sees Emma compete against seven other contenders to be crowned said 'champ' and make a pretty bundle with a £25,000 cash prize.

Each week contestants are pitted against each other in an individual round and group challenge.

Their best attempts are then ruthlessly critiqued by a pair of experts, British chef and restaurateur Mark Blatchford and American star of Man vs Food, Adam Richman.

While their comments were not always delivered in the most tactful of manners, Emma relished the constructive feedback.

"In a competition it's blind judging so they don't spit it out in front of you. You don't see any of that. It was actually nice to meet the guys. They would tell you what they thought right there and then. They are firm but fair. They tell it exactly how it is. I really appreciated the feedback. That helped me grow and learn."

The occasional blow was somewhat softened by presenter Myleene Klass who happily polished off contestants' scraps after each 'grill-off'.

Emma and her partner fell into competitive barbecuing by accident. Always the hosts they found themselves in a pickle seven years ago: they had run out of recipes to lavish on their esteemed guests. So they got Googling and stumbled upon the Hillbilly Texan YouTube channel on which Rednecks demonstrated the wonders of cooking gargantuan lumps of meet directly onto charcoal.

"We thought, 'We can do this'. So we went to Argos and bought the cheapest barbecue with a lid on it we could find. I have 13 barbecues now, smokers and grills. I use them in all weathers - you can cook anything on a barbecue, pizzas, brownies, Victoria sandwiches. Most of the cooking I do now is outside on the barbecue because it's easier to wash up."

They entered their first competition "for a laugh" in 2011 and returned to Swindon award winners.

More accolades followed such as King of the Q Grand Champion at Grillstock 2013, King of the Grill Grand Champion at Grillstock in 2012, IBQN Drum and Baste 2014 winners and British BBQ Championships 2012.

They have received three awards so far this year, including first prize at the Tony Stone Low & Slow BBQ competition in the Netherlands.

While the prospect of being recognised on her morning stroll fills her with unspeakable dread, she is doubtful any fans will make her out in a crowd without the artifices of set lighting and lathered-on make-up. For now she has happily returned to blissful anonymity.

"I'm absolutely terrified about it, I'm not going to lie," she confesses with a laugh. "But in real life I don't look anything like they made me look on TV. I don't wear make-up or do my hair. I would be surprised if anyone did recognise me. Even my own mum didn't recognise me on TV."

BBQ Champ, which is sponsored by Magners, is on ITV every Friday at 9pm.

RECIPE

Emma's Roast Guinea Fowl with Red Currant Sauce and Sides

Serves 4

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: 2 hours

Guinea fowl:

4 guinea fowl

4 150ml cans of cola

8 cloves of garlic

3 handfuls of mushroom

1 cup of soft butter

Sides:

500g New Potatoes

2 tbsp veg Oil

6 cloves of garlic, whole

Salt and pepper

Red Currant Cabbage and Apple:

1 red cabbage

1 cooking Apple

2 tbsp Red currant jelly

25g Butter

a pinch of Allspice

a pinch of Nutmeg

50ml Red wine vinegar

50g of brown sugar

Carrots and Parsnips:

3 carrots

3 parsnips

2 tbsp Honey

2 tbsp Whole grain mustard

Baked Cauliflower:

1 cauliflower

2 tbsp olive oil

Red Currant Sauce:

2 finely chopped shallots

4 tbsp caster sugar

25g butter

a punnet red currants, picked

2 tbsp raspberry vinegar

Method:

Preheat a lidded BBQ with charcoal and fruitwood for smoking and prepare an open grill BBQ.

Guinea fowl:

Chop the garlic and mushrooms, mix together and dry fry in a small skillet on the grill until the mix is dry and mix into the soft butter.

Put a layer of the butter mixture under the skin of each guinea fowl and in the cavity.

Open the can of cola and push into the guinea fowls cavity and place standing up on the grill. Close the lid and smoke at a medium heat for 35-40 minutes or until cooked through.

Once cooked, remove the cola can and rest in a warm place under foil.

Sides:

Roast Potatoes:

Cut the new potatoes in half and mix the oil, garlic cloves, salt and pepper and bake in a metal tray in the hottest part of the BBQ for 30-45mins until cooked and golden. Set aside to serve.

Red Currant Cabbage and Apple:

Slice the cabbage and apple, place into and cast iron pot, add the red currant jelly, red wine vinegar, allspice, nutmeg and brown sugar. Place over the grill with a lid on and cook on a low temperature for an hour and a half. Stir regularly adding a little water during cooking if the cabbage starts to dry out.

Carrots and Parsnips:

Peel and slice the carrot and parsnips into sticks.

Place in an oven dish, cover with the honey and whole grain mustard and place into the smoker along with the red cabbage.

Baked Cauliflower:

Remove the leaves and cover with salt, pepper and a drizzle of oil. Wrap tightly in foil, place in the BBQ and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove the foil and place back in the BBQ, once golden and cooked through thinly slice and serve.

Red Currant Sauce:

Mix all the ingredients together and place into a small pan, slowly bring to the boil over the grill constantly stirring, once reduced and thickened it is ready to serve.